Stay By My Side
by Reiko57
Summary: Reiko and her brother's lives are turned upside down and with the appearance of a Hitokiri, will it lead to happiness or utter dispair? Slight AU


Hey! This is A/U…well sorta….actually it's during the revolution but Kenshin is 24 and _yes_ he has the cross-shaped scar we all know and love and_ yes_ he got it the usual way. So basically, every thing until after Samurai X Trust & Betrayal is the same…so after is pretty simple...the war is still going on and he's still in it! How's that? lol

Oh! And Reiko is 19 and Ryonusuke is 10…(though I'm not sure I want to keep it that way…because I have this other idea that he and Reiko could be twins…hmmm….well if I decide to go with that I might just make a new fic so as not to confuse anyone! lol) So read and enjoy! Btw….not to give anything away or anything…but you won't see KxK in here! Ok! Just to let you know! K enjoy!

It was well past nightfall, and the cool mountain air gently flowed through the trees creating a harmonious mixture of rustling leaves and insect chirps. This is what Reiko awoke to that fateful night that would forever set her life on a path that could not be altered.

She groaned lightly, as she stretched her stiff body. She had tried to sleep but failed miserably, something was nagging at her senses but she didn't know what it was. It consumed her thoughts, this feeling of uneasiness but she quickly dismissed it. _You're just being paranoid!_she chided herself. However, as she sat in her room watching the shadows of the trees illuminated by the moon's soft glow sway back and forth the feeling of dread once again fell over her like a thick blanket.

Her heart began to race instinctively and her palms became cold and sweaty. _Something is wrong!_ Her mind screamed to her and instantly she was on her feet racing to her younger brother's room. She forced the door open with a loud crack startling her brother from his slumber.

"Wha!" The dazed hazy look fogging Ryonusuke's features she would have normally thought cute, but now her mind was elsewhere. "Get up. We're leaving." She hissed quietly. Sensing the urgency in her voice, Ryonusuke did not ask questions but did as he was told.

Reiko helped him slip on his haori over his sleeping yukata and they quietly made there way to the back entrance. Her hand hovered at the door in apprehension. Chills ran up her spine as she stepped away from the door protectively pushing her brother behind her. _There is something there._

No sooner had she thought this had a wakazashi pierced through the door and rested mere inches from her face. Ryonusuke let out a horrified gasp and pulled his older sister from the door. The shock of having a sword rush at her face wore off as Reiko found herself being dragged through the halls of their house by her brother's death-like grip. Obviously, he had no path in mind; he was running blindly on his instincts that yelled to him to run.

Reiko slowed her pace thus slowing her brother down to a fast walk, it would not be very smart to just run right to whoever was outside, or even inside. She shuddered at the thought. _Who was that and why are they here? They obviously have hostile intent thought I have no idea why. I must get my father's sword so I can protect Ryonusuke and myself!_

Reiko made a be-line to her father's room with her brother in tow. She listened carefully for any noises that might give off a human presence, but she heard none so she slid her father's door open braced for an attack. None came and she deemed it safe to enter so she pulled her brother inside and quietly shut the door behind her.

She approached the alter holding her father's katana and wakazashi and made a quick prayer of forgiveness at removing the swords from what should have been their final resting place. Carefully she handed the wakazashi to her brother, for he was still too young to be able to wield the katana as well as she could. She unsheathed the katana and its metal surface gleamed as if it carried her father's spirit. This single thought was comforting; perhaps her father would still be able to protect them.

They stood ready and waiting for whatever upcoming battle they would have to face.

They soon discovered that they would not have to wait long at all.

The floorboards outside the room creaked as human weight was applied. The creaking inched closer to the door and stopped, silence filling the air. The metallic ring of a blade being drawn cut through the silence like a blade through flesh, and Reiko and Ryonusuke knew that whatever actions they took next would determine the fate of their lives.

Time seemed to stop for Reiko and she found herself looking at her dear younger brother, he was her everything, and they only had each other. He was only 10 years old and had yet learned how to wield a blade to save his life. _I will protect him no matter the cost._ She let that thought be her courage as the door was swept open and she was brought back to the present.

Three stealth ninjas swept into the room and lunged at Reiko and Ryonusuke. They brought up their swords to block the fatal blows. Reiko maneuvered herself in front of her brother knowing that he had no chance of standing up to any of the shadow assassins. She desperately tried to block the blows raining down upon her and managed to throw out a few counter strikes but alas, they were blocked. Suddenly Ryonusuke jumped to the side of his sister and lunged at one of the ninjas. Taken by surprise the ninja lost his concentration on Reiko and she saw her opening.

She focused on that one ninja, lunged at him, and thrust her sword at his chest. He realized his mistake too late but still avoided a blow to the chest; instead, he had a gash on the underside of his upper arm. Reiko did not emerge unscaved either; by focusing all her attention on that one ninja, it left her open to the other's attacks, and so she received a smarting slice to her left shoulder.

It was well worth it, however, when she saw the ninja fall to his knees groaning, his arm bleeding very badly from the wound that had undoubtedly cut through an artery. As she fended off her other attackers, she saw him in the corner of her eye feebly trying to stop the bleeding. It was too late and Reiko knew it, soon after he passed out and Reiko knew that he would not wake up ever again.

Guilt flooded her mind. _I killed a man…he was going to kill Ryonusuke and me so I had to do it…but because of me, he will never have a future…_

She pushed the guilt from her mind, his future would be to kill more people so she should not feel bad about it and should focus on getting Ryonusuke and herself out of there alive. This was her mantra as she focused on killing the two remaining ninja that had dared try to kill her and Ryonusuke.

She dished out blow after blow but kept meeting steel rather than flesh. Ryonusuke saw this and decided he would try to help his sister by diverting one opponent's attention to himself. He charged the ninja to Reiko's right and yelled a battle cry. He certainly got the ninja's attention, as he was overwhelmed with the power behind the blows he was desperately trying to block.

Now that Reiko had only one opponent, she was able to put more consideration into her attacks and it soon began to pay off. The ninja jumped away from her sporting several bleeding wounds and they began to circle each other trying to calculate the other's next move.

A sharp cry broke her concentration and she turned just in time to watch her brother hit the ground, hard. Reiko looked on with horror as the ninja approached her brother's still form. She did not think, she just ran and tackled the ninja somehow jarring his blade out of his hand. He was now at her mercy as she held her blade to his throat. Or so she thought.

A ruthless hand grabbed a large fistful of her long raven hair and yanked back so hard she was thrown off the ninja she had tackled and was slammed against the opposite wall where she laid motionless trying to regain her bearings.

Her head felt like it was splitting in two and she had the sudden overwhelming urge to vomit. She tried to ignore her pain as the two ninjas approached her with a frightening gleam in their eyes. She wanted nothing more than to be able to stand and run, but her body was still stunned from the force of the impact and she found it difficult to breath.

The ninja she had tackled grabbed her arms and roughly pulled her away from the wall. The next thing she knew the other ninja was on top of her trying to have his way, while the other held down her arms. She wriggled and kicked in protest but her limbs felt so heavy. She kicked, screamed, and even clawed at the hands holding her arms down, but nothing seemed to work, it just resulted in more pain for her.

The ninja on top of her pulled off his glove and slid a large, cold, and calloused hand down the neck of her sleeping yukata. His touch on her body sent shivers of disgust down her spine. She imagined that his hands were leaving scars of impurity upon her body and soul and she began to cry. There was nothing else she could do; she could not fight them off anymore. They possessed the natural strength a man has over a woman and they intended to forcefully take away her innocence, the cruelest thing a man could ever do to a woman.

She grit her teeth as he slowly slid his hand up her inner thigh with every intention of causing her more suffering. But all in that same moment he stopped his motions and his full weight came crashing down on her with suffocating force. Her eyes snapped open and she was greeted with blood, the dead man's blood that still pumped out of the deep gash in his back.

There was a hiss behind her as a blade arched through the air at tremendous speed. Reiko twisted and craned her neck just in time to watch the other ninja fall to the floor lifeless. Above the corpse stood a dark, looming figure. He flung his sword out, causing Reiko to flinch, and the blood spattered against the wall, after that he simply sheathed his sword.

The mysterious figure approached her and her heart started to race. _Who says he won't do to me what he just did to them? Oh, god…what if he tries to continue what this guy was doing… please no…_

When he reached her, he rolled the man off her so she could once again move and breathe freely. As she sat up, she studied him and tried to anticipate what he would do to her.

He was of average build and height, but what struck her were his eyes and hair, that which was not typical of everyday Japanese looks. His hair was a rusty brown that almost looked crimson and his eyes the color of molten gold burned into her with a cold fire that seized her heart and froze it to the core.

She found that she couldn't move, couldn't speak, she could only stare as his cold aura wrapped around her like a vice. And as soon as these feelings became known to her, they vanished and the weight of the air seemed to lessen. He bent down to her and offered her his hand. She hesitated but finally allowed him to help pull her up and she was somewhat relieved to find that his hand, though calloused was not similar to the ninja's cold and brutal hands in any other way. This small detail quelled her fears somewhat.

After a second or two of regaining her bearings, she rushed over to her brother's side and her breath was let out all at once as relief washed over her upon discovering that he was only knocked out and did not seem to have any other injuries. Her relief was short lived however, as her rescuer came to stand beside her and whispered in a cool chilling voice, "We need to leave. Now." He bent down beside her and picked up her brother and she was about to protest but the look that he gave her killed the thought of even wanting to speak. So she relented to letting him carry her brother for now and she grabbed her father's swords.

It had been hours since they had started walking and her brother had since woken up and was seriously shaken, but after much consoling, he was finally able to calm down and accept that they would not be able to return home and had to stick with the silent man who had saved them.

Thus Reiko bid farewell to her old life as she knew it and accepted her fate whether it be good or bad.

Ok well hope you liked it! if not ok…TT lol anyways leave a review if you want….(that'd be really really really great!)


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